Section 51 — Priority consideration of visa applications
Text of provision
(1) The Minister may consider and dispose of applications for visas in such order as he or she considers appropriate.
(2) The fact that an application has not yet been considered or disposed of although an application that was made later has been considered or disposed of does not mean that the consideration or disposal of the earlier application is unreasonably delayed. efficiently and quickly with visa applications
Plain English
Section 51(1) provides that the Minister may determine the order in which visa applications are considered. The Minister may give priority to applications in one class over another and may, through legislative instrument, specify the order of consideration for applications of the same visa class.
Priority consideration can affect processing times significantly — applicants in prioritised categories may have their applications decided faster than those in lower-priority queues.
Practical effect
Priority processing is most significant in the skilled migration context (where employer-sponsored applicants may be prioritised over points-based applicants) and in the humanitarian program (where certain categories of refugees receive priority processing). The power to set processing priority through legislative instrument means DOHA can administratively reallocate processing resources without amending the Regulations. Applicants in non-priority categories may wait years for a decision.